First Examination of Matthioli.
Pignerol, May 10th, 1679.
I havedelivered to the Abbé d’Estrades, by the hands of his relation, the Abbé de Montesquiou, all the letters and papers of the Sieur de Lestang, which consisted in many letters, of which I have kept a list, containing shortly the subject of each letter. These letters only show his journeys backwards and forwards; there are some of them in which he is advised to take care of himself; one, among others, is from the Ministers of Mantua, informing him of the joy of the Duke at his prosperous return from France, and of his having senta boat to Placentia for him, in order that he may come to him more securely and more conveniently. He had many other papers, among which I have seen nothing of consequence, except a Spanish cypher, which he confesses to have come from the Count de Melgar.279
I made him relate before me to the Abbé de Montesquiou, all that he had done since his return from France, without interrupting him; having, nevertheless, let him know, before I permitted him to speak, that we were perfectly well-informed of his villainy, in order to see what colour he would give to his bad conduct. He says, that on his return from France, he went to Turin, where, from gratitude to that court, which had done him the honour of making use of him in many affairs, he thought himself obliged, on account of civility, to see the President Turki;280that it was true, in talking of news and of the state of affairs at present, he allowed him to discover that something new was about to take place in Italy; and that the aforesaid President, in the course of the conversation he had with him, gave him to understand that he had no doubt there had been a treaty made respecting Casale. It is thus that the Sieur de Lestang relates what he did at Turin, in order to excuse his treachery there, of which you, Sir, are already perfectly well-informed, as well as of the money he received for it. This was the first discovery that had been made of this affair, which hitherto had been conducted so secretly.
From Turin he went, by Placentia, to Mantua, to join his master, whom he found still well-intentioned for the completion of the affair. Even two days after his return, having fallen ill, the Duke of Mantua came to see him; and he took this occasion to make him sign the ratification, and to write a letter to the Governor of Casale, in which he recommended him to do all that should be told him by the Sieur de Lestang. Another letter, in form of a command, was written to the aforesaid Governor, to receive the troops of the King; in a word, he was provided at this moment with all things necessary for the entire conclusion of this affair. A few days afterwards, he was informed that his master had changed his resolution; and that it waseven his intention to take out of his hands all that he had done and signed, which could render the treaty valid. That the Duke of Mantua began by saying that nothing had been done in this business with his participation; and that he disavowed entirely all that he, the Sieur de Lestang, had done. This prince could not then do otherwise, the Spaniards and his mother being so particularly informed of this transaction, that they showed him exact copies of the whole treaty. (These they had acquired, either by a second piece of treachery of the Sieur de Lestang, or through the court of Savoy.) The Sieur de Lestang says, that, under divers pretexts, he always eluded giving up the originals to the Duke of Mantua, in order that he might himself remain master of the affair; and that he had not despaired of being able to complete it, by contriving expedients to enable him to surmount the obstacles that had occurred; as well as through the intelligence that existed between him and the Governor of Casale.
He says, that the Spaniards, knowing he was master of these papers, had made him considerable offers in order to obtain them. That the Spaniards being so well-informed, he thought it necessary to make a false confidence to them on the subject, in order to amuse them, by telling them that the affair had entirely failed; hoping by this confidence, to diminish their suspicions, and the precautions they might have taken to prevent his profiting by the advantages which his intelligence with the Governor of Casale gave him for the conclusion of the business. That he even took this cypher, of which I have before spoken, from M. de Melgar, in order to make this false confidence the more credible to him. Thus it is that this rascal pretends to escape the accusation that has been made against him on account of the Spanish cypher, which has been found in his possession.
He has told us positively, that the Duke of Mantua was poisoned at the house of an individual named Le Romain, at Venice, where he went to drink iced water; that the deed was done by the Spaniards, and the poison administered by one of his own domestics; that this prince could not live more than three or four months. He says that he learnt this from the Spaniards, with whom he kept up a communication, for the purpose of amusing them.
In the midst of these events, he says that he agreed upon the rendezvous of Incréa, where hewas to meet d’Asfeld, on the 7th March, for the exchange of the ratifications; after which he did not doubt but he should be able to conclude the affair, having all the orders necessary, besides his intelligence with the Governor, so that he could not have found any obstacle, nor any difficulty; that in going to the before-mentioned Incréa, he had been searched and robbed, on the frontiers of the Brescian and the Milanese; that, notwithstanding, having remained master of his papers, which were concealed in a saddle, he had afterwards continued his journey as far as Buffacore, where the arrest of d’Asfeld was confirmed to him in a manner he could no longer doubt; that M. de Villars, who was still Ambassador at Turin, having no knowledge of this affair, and being doubtful himself, whether, if he came to Pignerol, I281should place confidence in him, he took the resolution of going back to Venice, to inform M. de Pinchesne of all that had happened, and to concert new measures with him; that upon a simple letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, who sent him word it was necessary they should have an interview, he had not lost a moment of time in going to Turin; that with theconsent of the aforesaid Abbé d’Estrades, he had been at Asti, for the purpose of managing a secret interview with the Governor of Casale, at a mile from Moncalvo, in order, by promising him great recompenses, to engage him to receive the troops, when, for the saving of his honour, he should have received an order from his master, and been shown that he had made a treaty with the King. He says that he left him in a very good disposition. That afterwards he returned to Turin, where the Abbé d’Estrades proposed to him an interview with me, in which I arrested him.
This, Sir, is the simple and true recital of what the Sieur de Lestang has told me, which confirms me in the belief that he is a thorough rascal; not having been able to give me any good reason why he discovered this affair to the President Turki, when he passed through Turin; or why he concealed from M. de Pinchesne his communication with the Spaniards, his acceptation of their cypher, and his interviews with an Inquisitor of State at Venice; if, as he says, he only did these things in order the better to advance the affair in question.
I have made him write three letters for the purpose of getting possession of the original paperswhich are at Padua, which have been put into the hands of the Sieur Giuliani, by the advice of the Abbé d’Estrades, who places an entire confidence in him: he will make use of these three letters as he shall judge most fit, according to the disposition in which he shall find the father of the Sieur de Lestang. The first is only a letter of the Sieur de Lestang to his father, in which he acquaints him, that there are reasons which oblige him to remain at Turin, or in the neighbourhood, but that he may place an entire confidence in the Sieur Giuliani, and deliver to him such and such papers, of which I have made him give the inventory to the Sieur Giuliani. The second acquaints his father with the real state in which he is, and that it is important, as well for his life as his honour, that his papers should be immediately delivered into the hands of the Sieur Giuliani. In the third, which is the last to be made use of, in case the two first have no effect, he desires him to come to Turin; and tells him that at the house of the Abbé d’Estrades he will be instructed where he is, and the means to be employed to speak with him. The Sieur de Lestang has no doubt of being able, in this interview between him and his father, to persuade him to allhe may wish. I have inspired him with so great a fear of the punishments due to his bad conduct, that I find no repugnance in him to do all that I require of him, and he appears sincere in the wish of obtaining the delivery of the papers, which will be sent to M. de Pinchesne at Venice, in order to avoid any accidents that might happen to them in so long a journey as that from Padua to this place, or to Turin.
I place no confidence in what this rascal tells me; nevertheless I think it right to inform you, Sir, that he declares positively that the Governor of Casale is his friend, and that, by promising him a considerable recompense, and by furnishing him with a pretext to save his honour, which may be done by giving him the order of his master, (which the Sieur de Lestang says is at Padua,) to receive the King’s troops, we can make him do whatever we wish. That he can deliver up the town, and that the Governor of the citadel is his intimate friend, whom he can persuade to do whatever he shall order him. As for the castle, which I saw when I was passing through Casale, it is rather a sort of little citadel than a simple castle. The Sieur de Lestang says, that assuredly the governorof it will not submit himself to the orders of the Governor of Casale, although the latter has the command over him, because the aforesaid governor, whose name is Vialardo, is entirely devoted to the Spaniards; that this is a thing which he has heard from the Spaniards themselves, and that on the least change at Casale, or the march of troops towards it, the Governors of Valenza, Novara, and Pavia, have orders to send detachments of their garrisons to the aforesaid Casale, and that they will be infallibly let into the place through the castle. This Vialardo is brother of a secretary of the Duke of Mantua, who bears the same name, and who is also entirely in the Spanish faction.
However, when we shall have obtained possession of the papers, it is not impossible but we may be able to contrive something with the Governor of Casale, if he is in those sentiments that the Sieur de Lestang ascribes to him, and if he is the master to receive troops in the town and citadel. This affair, if conducted very secretly, and with the rapid march of a regiment or two of dragoons, might take the Spaniards so much by surprise, that they might not have any sufficient means in their power to be able to counteract it. If wewere masters of the town and citadel, and had as large a number of troops as that which was destined to the execution of this affair, I am certain that the castle could not prevent any resolutions that we might wish to take. We might receive upon this subject important intelligence from an interview with the Governor of Casale. The difficulty is how to contrive it so as to discover his intentions, without the negociations passing through the hands of our rascal, in whom we cannot place any reliance. But, when we have the papers, if this affair was despaired of as far as regards the Duke of Mantua, and that the King thought that the plan I send to you, Sir, was worth trying, I would concert what was to be done with the Abbé d’Estrades, according to the orders I should receive upon the subject. I beg pardon, Sir, for troubling you with so long a letter; but I could not acquaint you in fewer words with the conduct of the Sieur de Lestang, and with what has passed between him and me.
I am,
With all the respect which is due to you, &c.C.282
279The Governor of Milan.
280One of the ministers of Mary Jane Baptista of Nemours, Duchess of Savoy; he was in the interests of the House of Austria.
281Catinat.
282Catinat. From the work of M. Roux (Fazillac).